Closer Than You Think
by monkeycgm
Summary: Hermione thought that Ron was the love of her life. But when he unexpectedly announces he is engaged, she is devestated. With some help from her best friend Draco and her family, she might find that true love has been right in front of her all along.
1. Calm Before the Storm

TITLE: Closer Than You Think

AUTHOR: monkeycgm

PAIRING: allusion to RW/HG, overall HG/DM, some fluffy SS/OFC

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As a fan of this fandom (and pairing) for sometime, I thought it appropriate to finally branch out and begin writing as well as reading. So this is my first attempt at fanfiction, based on an idea unwilling to leave my head, with so much inspiration to the many well-written stories circulating through this ship.

DISCLAIMER: The characters in this story, except for a few of my creations, are the property of JK Rowling, and the many other people with legal rights to the Harry Potter series.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: This story does not at first appear to be AU but a future fic, but I can assure that in later chapters everything as you know it might change.

In an apartment that could have been any other in London, a young woman happily hummed along with the radio that seemed quite out of place with her magical decor. And although the apartment appeared to be like every other that surrounded it, and the woman could have been one among thousands of twenty-somethings, things were not quite what they seemed. For the female in question was not only a witch, but a quite famous one at that. Throughout the wizarding community, Hermione was regarded as something of a hero for her involvement in the war but also as one of the most brilliant witches of the last century. But had any glanced through her window on this cheery morning, they would have liked her to a giggling schoolgirl preparing for a date.

Perhaps her excitement for this upcoming meeting was a bit over the top, considering she could only speculate as to it's cause, but as she hadn't seen Ron in nearly three years, Hermione could only assume that he was willing to move past the issue that had driven them apart. His contact after all this time could have only one meaning in her mind; he was finally ready to pursue a relationship between the two of them. In the years prior, for all his ever obvious clues about his feelings, Ron had always insisted that he needed more time to explore the world before limiting himself to one person for the rest of his life. To Hermione the idea was ridiculous, and something likely to be found in the ideas of a century before, but when in love, one is often able to ignore the most odious qualities within our mate. And such was the case with Hermione.

So when the lunch invitation from Ron had arrived last night, she was willing to overlook the short notice to quench her curiosity. And so she found herself rapidly scurrying around her bedroom in search of an outfit, much like a mouse in a maze. When her sweater had shrunk at 10:15, she began to worry. At 11:04 when her hair would not cooperate, she became frantic. Call it an extreme case of nerves, but nothing was going right for her today, and when she grabbed the floo powder by her mantle, five minutes past the time she was supposed to arrive, Hermione felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach.


	2. The Meltdown

It was a tearful, if slightly drunk Hermione who returned to the apartment several hours later. Needless to say that things had not gone according the plan she had imagined in her mind, and she cursed herself for being so wrong. What was it about love that made her think so illogically? Or was it simply bad choice in men? All Hermione knew was that she had only just passed her twenty third birthday, and had never been in a true relationship before.

Oh she had dated some, had a long distance fling with Victor, and had loved Ron through most of her adolescence, but had never gotten remotely close to committing. She had to have the worst taste in the world to fall for loser after loser, but Hermione saw no hope for the future to break the cycle. Wanting to keep the recent experience as far from her mind as possible, she began to clean up the apartment, and hopefully her own life.

Many had thought that to see Hermione at exam time was to see a true disaster, but they had obviously not seen her in a true crisis. But if there was one thing that she knew to be true in her life, it was that keeping oneself busy is sometimes the best medicines. It had worked for her before, and it would certainly work now.

And that is how Draco found her when he arrived at the spacious apartment they shared. She was somberly making dinner and avoiding eye contact, and experience told him that everything had went badly. Heck, he had expected her to tackle him at the door with every little detail, but oddly enough, she wasn't even speaking.

Draco quietly approached her and attempted to do damage control. "So what did you do today?" He asked the question knowing full well her intent this morning.

Hermione looked up from the stove, as if she had just noticed he arrived. "Oh…you know lunch with Ron, followed by the complete collapse of my life. Nothing much." She once again looked down, as if the simple meal was the most fascinating thing in the world.

Draco let out some kind grunt of frustration. "I could kill that little bugger! What did he do?" He reached for the vegetables and began chopping in hope that he too could relieve some of the aggravation he currently felt towards a certain Weasley brother.

"I went to meet him with the highest of hopes. For some reason thinking that he was finally ready to settle down, but when I got there he was hardly alone. Lavender was there too, only with an engagement ring on an important finger." Hermione stopped her dinner preparations to halt for a second, as tears threatened to escape, and then once more continued, "Merlin if I don't have the worst instincts! I thought he was ready to settle down, only for some reason I thought it would be me. Is that so stupid? To want to be married to some one who leads you on until he proposes to someone else. Ugh!!"

She found herself wrapped in Draco's comforting arms, and was glad for the millionth time since graduation that they had become so close. It was university that had made them friends, but their lives had drawn them even closer. He was her best friend, and it seemed almost comical that he should be the one to dry her tears over someone she had once considered one of her closest friends in the world. The thought brought a laugh to her lips, and let her forget, if only for a second.

It was hard to say that the break up had not been years in the making. For Ron and her had shared a relationship that could best be described as unique. He was never there for her, rarely had time, and had delayed any commitment too many times to count, but she had thought herself in love at the time, and it was only now in heartache that she saw it should have ended much earlier. And so now she grieved for her own stupidity and lack of foresight.

Hermione stayed in Draco's arms, quietly sobbing for what seemed like an eternity, until they were driven apart by the smell of something burning. The horrid smell it turned out was the casserole she had started to bake earlier. Everything seemed to be going completely wrong today, and she needed a break from it all.

Draco reached for the phone, as she cleaned up the mess. "How bout we order in? I think we could both use a little treat." He checked for the number to their favorite, though in less stressful circumstances he could have dialed it by memory. "Chinese good with you? There's no better comfort food than that."

She mumbled something to the affirmative, and he began to place the order. Hermione looked miserable, in all of the years he had known her, he had never seen her this much a recluse. It was quite the opposite from her usual personality, bursting with knowledge waiting to be tested, and it hurt him to see her so affected. He hadn't developed a plan yet, but there was no way he was going to let a Weasley see her in this state.


	3. The plan

Twenty-four short hours had made a world of difference. It found Hermione on the couch with a sappy romance novel and large amount of chocolate. And although she was the picture of a woman scorned, she had no more tears to cry over a relationship that had been over for years. Her attitude was now more pensive than angry, but she could not honestly say that she was remotely recovered. She doubted that it would be less than six torturous months before she could forget her own stupidity, but she was determined to not let it guide the rest of her life. Soon she would be back to her normal self. Soon, but not today.

While Hermione had spent the day in depressed idleness, Draco had been busier than ever. He was determined to see her recovered from this plague of emotions Weasley had all but forced upon her, and has stumbled upon a plan to punish the weasel at the same time. It was a plan with more layers than the cake Weasley would soon share will his tiresome bride, and he was sure that in time, Hermione would be enough recovered to share in his vindictive streak. But that time would have to wait, for the time being, Phase One would consist of restoring his best friend to her former self.

And so, he had hurriedly written a few letters, packed their suitcases, picked up a few things from the Alley, while Hermione had sat unaware. But his tasks were now complete and they could leave right away, provided he could sway her to his destination.

He found her as he had left her hours before, the only indication that she had moved at all was the change in novels that occupied her thoughts. A gentle "Hey," brought her back into the real world. "So what have you done today?" he prodded, interested to see what she would answer when he already knew the truth.

"Oh a little of this, a little of that." She replied vaguely, looking at her paperback as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Minutes passed in silence as she averred her glance, until she commented out of nowhere "Men are such scum bags."

Draco coughed loudly at this generalization, causing her to finally look up. "Oh I didn't mean you, but I would hardly put you in that category either." Draco smiled, though she had just insulted his manliness grievously, for it was the first sign that her ever-sarcastic nature was returning. But he could not let such a comment slip, else some might question his infamous reputation, and so he enacted his revenge: _Death by tickling. _His ministrations finally brought about a sound he had missed most during this somber depression, a laugh as sweet as the song of any bird.

It was then, looking her small smile that he remembered his plan. "We should get away for a while, don't you think? Leave our problems at the door, if only for a while." Hermione leaned her head against his shoulder, and gave a noncommittal "Hmm" in response. "Well it's already decided anyway. Your bags are packed for you; all that remains is for you to say yes. Admit your defeat and come along for what promises to be a healing journey."


	4. The Arrival

Although things were looking a little better from Hermione's perspective, she was still in no shape for to apparate herself. Floo powder was the next best option, though Mione usually made a point of avoiding it, it would allow them to travel quickly and safely without any glitches. Hopefully she would forgive him once she realized where they were. He whispered the location and gave her a gentle shove before repeating the process for himself.

Less than a minute later they found themselves at the gate of a large country manor, the one place in the world where Draco would have a chance restoring Hermione's tattered spirits. The gates opened in recognition and the two began to make their way to the front door. Suddenly an extremely energetic toddler came running in their direction, hardly stopping before leaping into his arms. It seemed that her excitement was contagious for Draco found himself happier than he had been since the night of Mione's trauma, and even Hermione had managed a smile.

Turning his face towards the child in his arms, Draco finally spoke, "Stella, so nice to see you again" in a playful voice.

Stella giggled in response. "Mione, Drake you're finally here. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting since Mommy and Daddy read your letter and that was ages ago" For dramatic effect she added a pause at the end of her little speech.

"Stella honey were actually early, we didn't say we'd be here till…."

He was interrupted by the impatient little girl, "You is wrong. You is wrong" she taunted over and over. Before he could reply they reached the door that was now open, it's master and mistress ready to welcome their guests. Stella began to fidget and he carefully allowed her down so she could do as she pleased. He could vaguely see her run up the stairs, presumably to tell the other children, when Celeste pulled him into a hug.

"Once you are settled you will tell me all about this Ron business" she whispered the command in his each. Meanwhile Hermione slowly allowed herself to be brought into an embrace by Severus.

"Daddy" she whimpered quietly before breaking into silent sobs. Draco and Celeste met Severus' worried look over her head. The other children finally made their appearance, stomping down the stairs in order to pick up speed. They seemed to be racing, and as always Sebastian won, his greater age and strength allowing him to prevail against his younger sisters. He had grown since Draco had seen him last summer, from a wide-eyed little boy to a maturing pre-teen. In just a few months Sebastian would be making his very own trip on the Hogwarts Express, growing up in a far different world than his parents or sister had. He had never worried about the rising threat of a crazed madman, only knew the stories which portrayed his father as a grand hero. In another aspect Sebastian seemed to have changed as well, where as a year ago he might of attacked Draco with a hug in much the same way as Stella, no he offered a stiff and awkward handshake.

Roslyn cleared her throat, letting her self-impressed older brother that it was now her turn. She was the quite and reserved one of the group, but highly intelligent. Of all the siblings she reminded him of his Mione the most. However she still greeted him warmly, her gripping hug and small squeals revealing her usually contained excitement. She too was becoming quite the little lady. At seven years old she still had four long years before she boarded the train, but from experience her knew that she probably had more knowledge of the magic world stuck in her head than most first years.

Hermione pulled away from her father and wiped the tears from her eyes before her mother embraced her. "It will be ok Mya. It will be ok" she whispered as she made soothing motions down her back. It seemed to calm her down for the moment, enough for Celeste to suggest that they retire to their rooms but not before her and Severus gave Draco a look that meant they wanted to talk in private. He nodded his head, and put his hand on the small of Mione's back to leading her up the stairs and to the adjoining rooms they always stayed in during their visits to the manor. He unshrunk her luggage in her room and left her to collect herself in private. Quickly he did the same to his luggage before rushing towards Severus' study. He was exhausted from the whole ordeal but it seemed their would be no sleep for the weary.


	5. AN

**A/N** Many of my wonderful readers expressed a lot of confusion after the last chapter and so I want to announce that I will be creating character profiles and possibly doing some rewriting to make things more clear.

**A/N 2 **I wanted to clear something up because many of you expressed similar confusion. I did not go into a lot of detail about the family relationships because I wanted to surprise people but I will reveal the basics. The back-story will be revealed later.

Hermione _was_ referring to Severus when she said 'Daddy' but she is in a sense adopted. She is related to him more distantly but thinks of him as her father. Celeste is Severus' wife, she is not related to Hermione except by marriage but has a motherly relationship with Hermione. Sebastian, Roslyn, and Stella are the children of Celeste and Severus, but they think of Hermione as a big sister. Draco is a very close family friend and so he knows all of them.


End file.
